Illinois State falls in semifinals to Wichita State 66-51

[March 11, 2013]  ST. LOUIS -- Illinois State overcame a 16-point first-half deficit to take a one-point lead early in the second half, but Wichita State pulled away late to beat the Redbirds 66-51 in the Missouri Valley Conference semifinals Saturday evening at the Scottrade Center.

Jackie Carmichael scored a game-high 22 points for the No. 6-seeded Redbirds (18-15), who beat No. 3-seeded Northern Iowa on Friday but could not continue their Valley tournament run. Illinois State was held to a season-low 29.1 percent from the field, while the Shockers (26-7) shot 41.1 percent.

Carl Hall led WSU with 16 points and eight rebounds. The Shockers advanced to the Sunday afternoon game against top-seeded Creighton for the Valley tournament title.

Wichita State scored 15 unanswered points to start the Saturday night game and led by as many as 16 in the first half. During the opening six minutes, the Redbirds were held to 0 for 8 from the field and had three turnovers. Illinois State first got on the board with a free throw by Carmichael at the 13:43 mark, but the Redbirds missed their first 13 field goal attempts.

ISU did not make a basket until Bryant Allen forced a steal that led to a fast-break layup by Tyler Brown, which pulled ISU to within 22-8 with 6:56 remaining in the first half.

Brown's bucket sparked a 16-0 run over the next five minutes, which consisted of back-to-back 3-pointers by Jon Ekey and Nick Zeisloft, plus two consecutive Carmichael layups, including a three-point play that pulled the Redbirds to within 22-19.

Zeisloft then tied the game at 22-22 with a 3-pointer. Ehimen Orukpe answered with a free throw, but Carmichael netted a fadeaway jumper on the other end to give Illinois State its first lead of the game at 24-23 with 33 seconds remaining. A straightaway 3-pointer by Fred VanVleet with six seconds left pushed the Shockers back in front at halftime 26-24.

Brown quickly regained Illinois State's lead with a 3-pointer to start the second half. However, Wichita State re-established a three-point advantage at 36-33 with 15:52 left to play. The Redbirds never led again. Wichita State then outscored ISU 18-8 over the next eight minutes to take a 54-41 lead at the 7:45 mark. The Shockers led by double digits for the final 10 minutes to secure the victory.

With Illinois State eliminated from the Valley tournament, No. 1 Creighton would battle No. 2 Wichita State for the tournament title and an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Tipoff was scheduled for 1:05 p.m. Sunday, with live coverage on CBS.

[Text from news release received from Illinois State University]